The South Korean foreign ministry is considering revoking the honorary consul status it awarded to Jill Kelley, one of the women at the heart of the controversy over former CIA director David Petraeus, and John Allen, the top US commander in Afghanistan.

The South Korean move comes after Kelley phoned the police to complain about the number of media outlets that descended on her home in Tampa, Florida and suggested she was entitled to diplomatic protection.

A South Korean official in Washington confirmed that she has been an honorary consul since August and a decision on whether to revoke that rested with the South Korean foreign ministry in Seoul.

Asked if it was likely that her status would be revoked, the official hinted that it could be removed, saying that the post was linked to a person's "reputation".

Kelley, a Tampa-based socialite, set off the sequence of events that led to the uncovering of Petraeus's affair with his biographer Paula Broadwell. Kelley complained to the FBI about anonymous emails traced back to Broadwell.

The FBI trawl through emails uncovered the Petraeus affair and also emails between Kelley and Allen.

The South Korean government is unhappy to find itself involved in unwanted publicity in relation to the sex scandal and also over the Tampa call.

The Tampa police released her call to a 911 police dispatcher on Sunday. In it, she said: "You know, I don't know if by any chance, because I'm an honorary consul general, so I have inviolability, so they should not be able to cross my property. I don't know if you want to get diplomatic protection involved as well," she told the 911 dispatcher Monday.

Honorary consuls have no diplomatic immunity.

A counsellor at the South Korean embassy in Washington DC, TJ Kim, said she is one of 10 honorary South Korean consuls across the US. Asked if she will remain in post, he said: "I do not know. We are now following up what is going on and what might happen in the future. Nothing is decided yet."

He added: "It is up to our (foreign) ministry to appoint or make someone resign."

The duties of an honorary consul, who are normally American citizens, were to help the South Korean community in their immediate area.

He said those duties did not involve any events in Washington DC.

Kelley attended various receptions in DC, including a Christmas party at the British residency last year.

A British embassy spokesperson said: "In representing the United Kingdom, the British embassy and our consulates across the United States are used intensively in support of the government's objectives across a wide range of sectors and activities. Tens of thousands of visitors come through our doors each year. It is not our policy to comment on specific individuals."